Mohe people
Mohe people | |||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||
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Chinese | 靺鞨 | ||||||||
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Korean name | |||||||||
Hangul | 말갈 | ||||||||
Hanja | 靺鞨 | ||||||||
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Part of a series on the |
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History of Manchuria |
The Mohe, Malgal, or Mogher were a Tungusic people who lived primarily in modern Northeast Asia. The two most powerful Mohe groups were known as the Heishui Mohe, located along the Amur River, and the Sumo Mohe, named after the Songhua River.[1] The Mohe constituted a major part of the population in the kingdom of Balhae, which lasted from the late 7th century to early 10th century. The founder of Balhae, Dae Jo-yeong, was a former general of Goguryeo of possibly Sumo Mohe descent; however, the Samguk Yusa, a Korean record written in the late 13th century, states that he was simply of Goguryeo descent.[2] After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the primary ethnic group from whom the Jurchen people descended. The Heishui Mohe in particular are considered to be the direct ancestors of the Jurchens, from whom the 17th century Manchu people originated.[3] The Mohe practiced a sedentary agrarian lifestyle and were predominantly farmers who grew soybean, wheat, millet, and rice, supplemented by pig raising and hunting for meat.[4][5] The Mohe were also known to have wore pig and dog skin coats.[6]
Name
The Chinese exonym Mohe 靺鞨 is a graphic pejorative written with mo 靺 "socks; stockings" and he 鞨 "shoes". Mo (靺) (Middle Chinese mal) is an adjective, a customary expression meaning "barbarian" or Xiongnu. He 鞨 is gal (Middle Chinese gat), meaning "stone" by Mohe/Malgal, Jie/Gal language. The Jie ruler Shi Le (石勒) takes the surname shi 石 "stone" from gal. According to the History of Jin (Jin Shi), Shi Tu Men (石土门) is the prince of the Jurchen people, whose surname shi hints to a connection with the Mohe and Jie.
The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested *Motgit (in Middle Chinese. Chinese characters: 勿吉, pinyin: Mòjí, Korean: 물길 [Mulgil], Japanese: もつきつ [Motsukitsu]).
The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" (Japanese 新靺鞨, しんまか) or "New Mohe," which is the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it; the dance and song were introduced to the Japanese court during the Nara Period or around the beginning of the Heian Period from the Balhae Kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the "kana" reading Makkatsu (まっかつ), which is probably a transliteration based on the standard Sino-Japanese readings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe the ethnonym of the Mohe.
Tribes
According to some records, there were seven/eight Mohe tribes :
Moji/Merjie/Wuji (勿吉) | Mohe/Mogher/Malgal (靺鞨) | Modern location | |
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Sumo tribe 粟末部 (Sùmò Bù) 속말부 (Songmalbu) |
Sumo tribe 粟末部 (Sùmò Bù) 속말부 (Songmalbu) |
near Songhua River | |
Baishan tribe 白山部 (Báishān Bù) 백산부 (Baeksanbu) |
Baishan tribe 白山部 (Báishān Bù) 백산부 (Baeksanbu) |
near Baekdu Mountain | |
Yulou tribe 虞婁 (Yúlóu) 우루 (Uru) |
Yulou tribe 虞婁 (Yúlóu) 우루 (Uru) |
on the Suifun River Basin | |
Boduo tribe 伯咄部 (Bóduō Bù) 백돌부 (Baekdolbu) |
Boduo tribe 伯咄部 (Bóduō Bù) 백돌부 (Baekdolbu) |
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Funie tribe 拂涅部 (Fúniè Bù) 불열 (Buryeol) |
Funie tribe 拂涅部 (Fúniè Bù) 불열 (Buryeol) |
near the Mudan River on the Khanka Basin | dwelled in Jixi and Mudanjiang |
Anchegu tribe 安车骨部 (Ānchēgǔ Bù) 안차골부 (Anchagolbu) |
Tieli tribe 鐵利 (Tiělì) 철리 (Cheolli) |
near the Songhwa River | dwelled in Harbin |
Haoshi tribe 号室部/號室部 (Hàoshì Bù) 호실부 (Hosilbu) |
Yuexi tribe 越喜 (Yuèxǐ) 월희 (Wolhui) |
dwelled in Dalnerechensk | |
Heishui tribe 黑水部 (Hēishuǐ Bù) 흑수부 (Heuksubu) |
Heishui tribe 黑水部 (Hēishuǐ Bù) 흑수부 (Heuksubu) |
low banks of Amur River | dwelled in Hegang, Jiamusi, Shuangyashan, Khavarovsk, Birobidzhan, Yichun |
Notable personalities
Sumo Mohe/Yan Prefecture Mohe chieftains
- Tudiji (突地稽 pinyin: Tūdìjī, Manchu: Tulergi (alien people), Hangul: 돌지계), ca. 580-620
- Li Jinhang (李謹行 pinyin: Lǐ Jǐnháng, Hangul: 이근행), 619-683, Tudiji's son
- Li Duozuo (李多祚 pinyin: Lǐ Duōzuò, Hangul: 이다조)
See also
- Jie people (Gal people)
- Shi Le
- Guanqiu Jian
References
Citations
- ↑ Crossley 1997, p. 18.
- ↑ Yi, U-song. "A Study of the Period of the Northern and Southern States". Korea Journal, Vol.17, No.1, Jan., 1977.
- ↑ Huang, P.: "New Light on the origins of the Manchu," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 50, no.1 (1990): 239-82. Retrieved from JSTOR database July 18, 2006.
- ↑ Gorelova 2002, p. 14.
- ↑ Aisin Gioro & Jin, p. 18.
- ↑ Gorelova 2002, pp. 13-4.
Bibliography
- Aisin Gioro, Ulhicun; Jin, Shi. "Manchuria from the Fall of the Yuan to the rise of the Manchu State (1368-1636)" (PDF). Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- Crossley, Pamela Kyle (1997), The Manchus, Blackwell Publishing
- Gorelova, Liliya M., ed. (2002). Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies, Manchu Grammar. Volume Seven Manchu Grammar. Brill Academic Pub. ISBN 9004123075. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- Relationship between Mohe aristocratic names, Jurchens and Hungarian names